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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27825571">Head over heart</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eule/pseuds/Eule'>Eule</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Musketeers (2014)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Hurt Aramis, Hurt Athos, Hurt Porthos, Modern Setting</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 08:41:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,886</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27825571</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eule/pseuds/Eule</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>They had done their job even if it had been under bad conditions, so all they asked for was some rest and quiet. They weren't asking for a far more bigger catastrophe and a race against time instead.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hsg/gifts">Hsg</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hsg I promised you some hurt Athos and here it is, I know it took me long enough but here it is. I hope it is to your liking and not totally beside it.</p><p>To everyone else, I hope you can enjoy this one too!</p><p>I didn't choose to use warnings, because I think there isn't anything to graphic, but if you think otherwise please tell me! There are blood and injuries mentioned and Aramis shots someone, but I think that is all of it.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sometimes you can gather as much information as possible and make plans above plans but in the end nothing is written in stone and faith has its own mind on things.</p><p>So when Aramis laid flat on his belly on top of a roof, with Porthos in clear sight through his scope and Athos somewhere hidden in the shadows, he felt clearly uncomfortable. This case was unnerving, too many loose ends not tied up, too many answers gotten only to be confronted with a lot more questions within the answers.<br/>
But time played against them and they had to act immediately after Trevilles orders to do so. There hadn’t been a way to argue even if Athos had tried behind closed doors, his expression had been unreadable when he left his superiors office two days ago after their last debate and that hadn’t changed since then, but no word had come above his lips about what had happened in there and something in his eyes told them to obey. And so they had followed him, something they didn’t do often without a good reason, when not only their lives but that of others was at stake as well. </p><p>And here they were at 10.30 pm on a rainy and cold Thursday evening in late autumn; waiting for a high ranking weapons dealer to show himself and perform one of the biggest deals made in Aramis career.<br/>
His gaze wandered to Porthos and back to the road where he could see the lights of a car some distance away and he felt the hairs at the back of his neck raising. </p><p>“I can see a car at the beginning of the road, probably Duchon and his men” he spoke softly into his mic, eyes focused on the road in front of him, he didn’t dare to look away anymore; the man in the car was his target after all. He was the last solution, when all other attempts at taking the man failed. Athos confirmed his words after he had a look for himself from somewhere hidden and told them all to be ready for action in four minutes. As if they weren’t in this state for hours, but maybe one or two needed to be reminded after such a long time in the cold without something happening. </p><p>Michel, the other Musketeer sniper informed them about a second convoy coming from the other direction 30 seconds later and Aramis froze at that. Another convoy, how many men did the buyer bring to this meeting? Athos must have asked something in the same direction, because Michel gave them the number of six cars and he imagined he could hear the wheels in Athos head turning before he changed the position of some persons on the ground. His voice was steady and level, totally controlled as if nothing unexpected had happened and they were running a training exercise with nothing to lose. </p><p>The cars were moving closer and Aramis slowed his breathing down again. He needed to be in control of himself for this task, to never lose Duchon out of sight while he and his three Gorillas had enough weapons in the trunk to raise a small army and let Michel do the same job with Guan, who didn’t only had the money to buy these guns, but also to raise the army needed.</p><p>He breathed in and listened to Athos who confirmed the number of cars. How he was able to move so fast and unseen through this godforsaken place without running into one of Duchons men was a mystery to him. A black SUV had arrived six hours ago and four of the weapons dealer’s men had begun to patrol the area. They knew from older deals that he did so four hours before his arriving to make sure that there wouldn’t be something unexpected happening. Athos had let them take positions eight hours before the deal by doubling the time, because he feared a change and had been proven right. But they had chosen their hiding places well and nobody had been discovered so far. </p><p>While he took another deep breath he stretched his cold and stiff muscles and listened to Athos calm repetition as he explained everything again for the last time. His voice was low and stopped sometimes midsentence, probably because he was listening if Duchons men were near enough to hear him. All of them confined at the end and it was good to hear Porthos again as a proof that everything was alright for the moment. </p><p>And then silence fell over the old fabric complex only interrupted by the soft dripping of the rain until the cars could be heard and came into view a few moments later.<br/>
They came out of two different directions and parked in a way that would give them an easy way to retreat fast if necessary. Aramis let his gaze wander for a moment to get a better grip on the situation as a whole. Duchon stood in front of his car, flanked by three men which seemed to be replicas of Hulk, but not as green. The other four had joined them on the ground and stood near the car, probably to protect their cargo if something goes wrong and to be ready to bring their boss out of here if necessary.<br/>
Guans car was parked in front of the five others and his men built a semicircle around the whole scene, he himself was flanked by four, behind them two others with caskets at their feet. A little bit in a hurry then, good.</p><p>He couldn’t understand a word that was spoken on the ground but he could read body languages well enough and saw the moment something went wrong. He couldn’t tell what had happened but he guessed Guan had been too impatient and had tried to show that he was the boss down there, which was absolutely ridiculous but wouldn’t be a surprise. Athos voice rang through their earpieces, ordering them to stay put and wait until he told them otherwise.<br/>
There were weapons drawn on the ground and loud voices rang between the buildings. Aramis cursed inwardly, this wasn’t allowed to go wrong. But probably they would kill each other and the problem solved itself, which wouldn’t be a worst case scenario either.<br/>
But Duchon hadn’t survived this long for nothing and after a few tense minutes he got the situation back under control, even if he hadn’t let it escalate and was the one with less personal protection than his trading partner. The situation calmed down and both parties began to celebrate this deal as if nothing has happened before. Maybe it was tradition for high ranking dealers to make a little bit drama before they could act as proper businessmen.<br/>
But Aramis wasn’t able to follow this trail of thoughts any further because Athos spoke one word and the whole team leaped into action. They had their evidence and they would end the reign of these two men right now.<br/>
He focused on his task and blended out anything except the scene down below and Athos voice in his ear. It wasn’t as steady and calm as before and sometimes interrupted by the voices of other musketeers but still it was the one voice that counted. </p><p>Time stretched endless and was running at the same time as he laid there, watching the back of his fellow musketeers and making sure that Duchon wouldn’t escape unseen. No easy task, but nobody had an easy one tonight. They were far too few but had the moment of surprise on their side and weren’t an elite unit for nothing.<br/>
And then Athos frantic call reached his ear: “Aramis” Take Guan down! Take him down!” He didn’t thought twice, didn’t asked why, he only did as he was told and tried not to think about the meaning of Athos second command: “Michel get out of there! Now!”<br/>
Aramis aimed, fired and Guan fell in a spray of blood at the same time the backside of the building opposite him exploded and hell broke loose.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you very much for reading and leaving Kudos/Comments, I appreciate every single one of them!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Aramis? Aramis!”<br/>He could hear his name being called and looked up from Etienne, who sat at the back of an ambulance and pressed a soaked through bandage against his bleeding head wound. <br/>“Go, before he mows everything over to find you, I am fine and in good hands even if it isn’t worth the fuss” the other Musketeer said and Aramis saluted with a grin, Etienne was right, a few stiches and some rest would leave him as good as new. <br/>He walked in the direction he thought the voice had come from and found Porthos a few seconds later. It was early in the morning and the sun had begun to climb over the horizon, illuminating the scene in front of them. The old fabric building was still burning, but it seemed to be under control; Paramedics, Firefighters and Policemen were hurrying around them in a way of organized chaos to clean up the mess they had made. <br/>The mission had been successful in the end, Guan was dead, Duchon and many others in custody. They couldn’t tell if someone had been able to escape or if some had died through the bomb but they would find out when they got numbers from the police, hospital and maybe the coroner. It was a bomb nobody knew of, a bomb nobody knew how and when it was installed, a bomb that injured one of their own life-threatening. Michel was already at the hospital and in surgery, but there hadn’t been other information than that and so they could only hope that he would come through this. </p><p>“There you are. Could have thought about looking for you near the paramedics before I searched the whole area”, Porthos huffed and looked at him critically. He seemed to be satisfied and rubbed both hands over his eyes. It had been a long day followed by an even longer night and still no end in sight. But they saw something different, Treville and Athos stood only a short distance away, probably discussing the next steps. <br/>They approached them slowly in case they were talking about something they weren’t allowed to hear, even if they wouldn’t give a damn about it at the moment, but needed to pretend otherwise. Aramis had to admit that the night had been more than taxing and Athos calm presence was balm to his giddy mind. He needed the confirmation that the three of them were alright and therefor they needed to be together. He himself was totally unharmed, an effect the job as a sniper normally had because he wasn’t in the midst of all the chaos and out of sight for everyone. Porthos had a few scratches and small burns from the explosion, but nothing major that needed more attention.<br/>Athos condition was another story, he stood slightly hunched and favored his left side, his face was pale and some blood had run down his hairline. Aramis guessed a broken collarbone or badly bruised or cracked ribs. He can’t tell without further examination but it seemed to be one of those three. Probably some injury to his right knee too. If he remembered correctly Athos had been limping earlier but had declined the help of a paramedic politely some time ago and the head wound was obvious, but he was steady enough so he didn’t thought that there was more than a slight concussion in the worst case. <br/>He seemed to have heard them approach and turned around, so they could both see that a short flicker of relief crossed his face before his expression slid back into his emotionless mask he wore often when something worried him or he had to be the calm presence as a Lieutenant he needed to be at the moment.</p><p>“Gentlemen” Treville greeted them with a short nod. <br/>“Captain” they answered in unison and positioned themselves at Athos side. <br/>But before they could say something else a new voice added itself to the cacophony of noises around them and moments later they were confronted with the angered face of Richelieu who demanded answers for this mess. <br/>And so Athos reported everything again. How they had worked for month to take these men down, how they had infiltrated their gangs, sat a lot if cold nights in the dark by every weather, clothed as beggars or whores to gather information and carefully speed up the contact between those two groups of criminals. Only to be rushed into action from the highest ranks because of an attempted attack on the life of Louis himself. They hadn’t been ready, truth to be told they had been so far away from ready that it could have been sitting somewhere comfortable deep within the Sahara desert. <br/>Athos didn’t say it like this but it was clear if you listened that he would have liked to say it out loud. </p><p>But he didn’t and they had made it work without losing hope, faith or the life of a Musketeer until tonight. Michel wasn’t dead but they feared for him and Aramis wasn’t sure what exactly would happen if he won’t make it. Athos was a force if truly angered and they all feared the day he wouldn’t be able to hold back and be diplomatic anymore.</p><p>They had patrolled and double checked the location for three weeks since the day they knew that they were forced into action a month or two earlier than they had planned. There wasn’t any explanation when or how some of Guans men could have installed a bomb in one of the buildings. And why it had been on the back of it, maybe as a distraction when everything goes wrong so they could flee unharmed. Nobody knew right now. <br/>Athos recalled every detail from yesterday after Treville silently bid him to do so. How he had briefed them for the last time and checked their positions. How he himself made his way back and forth on the ground to make sure nothing went wrong. Then the arrival of Duchons men two hours after them and finally the ones they had waited for. Everything had been well until then, because Guan couldn’t help himself and had tried to mark his territory or something in that direction, even Athos hadn’t been able to understand everything by walking the parameter, giving orders, having an eye on the exchange and avoiding to be seen himself. But he had positioned someone whose job it had been to listen and so they would get the details when everything was sorted out and he was able to write the full report with all the information his team had gathered. </p><p>They were only hairs breads away from success when Athos had spotted Guans behavior to be uncharacteristically. He had been agitated and looked often in direction of the building Michel had his position on and grabbed for something in his jacket. He had done so a few times until he could see that the Musketeers wouldn’t be overwhelmed and the light smile on his lips with another look in that direction while grabbing for his pocket and pulling out a small item had alarmed Athos so much that he had ordered Aramis to take him down. But it was already too late, he had pressed the button at the same time Aramis shot rang through the air and the bomb donated. Athos had bellowed orders he can’t remember anymore to make sure everyone still did his job and was mostly unharmed before he tried to find a safe way inside the burning building to rescue Michel. He spotted him on his way, the other man had tried to climb down the emergency stairs at one side after Athos warning but they had collapsed with the might of the explosion. </p><p>Porthos would never forget the sight of Athos cradling the limp body of the older man in his arms, bend above him as much as possible to protect him from falling debris, stones and flames. </p><p>And here they were; exhausted and in dire need of food, clean clothes and sleep. They would only get the first two things until everything was tied up enough to give Treville something to work with and satisfy the others like Louis and Richelieu for the time being. <br/>They stood in silence, until Athos scrubbed the hand of his uninjured side over his face and combed his fingers through unruly hair, catching at knots and little stones. That seemed to focus Richelieu on their appearance and he nodded shortly to Treville before he left without another word in a flourish of black and red. </p><p>Treville sighted and looked at his men as well, his gaze softer and concerned than Richelieus had been. <br/>“You have done well. All of you, even if I know that these words mean nothing at the moment; but you did your job under great pressure and did it thoroughly. I would like to let you go home, but I need a rough report from you about tonight. Nothing to detailed, but something I can work with and present to government. I have to make sure that Duchon arrives at his destination in prison and everything is alright there. Hopefully I haven’t to double check that Guan is really dead, but I trust in your aim Aramis?”<br/>Aramis quirked an eyebrow, but answered in honest, this wasn’t something to joke about.<br/>“I hit him between the eyes, there is no way he could have survived that.”<br/>Treville nodded. “Go back to the Garrison, Alain will watch that everything works out here as your substitute since Etienne is injured and you three sort everything out. Oh, and Aramis, make sure they get the medical attention they need before you do that.”</p><p>Aramis grinned at that and Porthos danced playfully out of reaching distance. “No need for the doctors here!”<br/>And so two pairs of dark eyes settled on a pair of light ones. Athos snorted and turned around to leave in direction of their car, his limp more pronounced than earlier, now that the adrenalin was slowly abating and by the time they reached the black SUV he was visibly unsteady on his feet. <br/>Porthos took the keys from Athos’ slightly trembling fingers and steered him to the passenger’s seat.<br/>“No way you are driving this car. You’re as white as a sheet and I bet you can’t move your right arm anyway.”<br/>Athos blinked at him rather owlishly and didn’t say a word as Porthos helped him sit down. He hissed as Porthos buckled the seatbelt and Aramis put a grounding hand at his Lieutenants neck from the back. </p><p>Round about two hours later they were back at the Garrison and Aramis handed the Chinese take-away out. He opened the container for Athos, whose right arm was securely strapped to his chest to support the broken collarbone, even if the two cracked and a lot more bruised ribs weren’t helping to get comfortable with the light pressure put upon them. But he had gotten decent pain medication and they would make it bearable for the time being.<br/>Porthos rumored around and came back with a bin and an old cushion. He put both in front of Athos, even if he got one of his fierce glares for his doing, which wasn’t as impressive as it could be, exhausted as he was. <br/>“You’re havin’ twelve stitches under your knee, think it would be nice to put tha’ leg up for a bit.”<br/>Athos only glared again, but didn’t say a word when Porthos propped his leg carefully up on the cushioned bin.<br/>The three of them sat in silence for a while, eating and sorting through more important audio transcripts, while every so often one of the other Musketeers plopped in to give a short report and asked to go home. So they had all information needed for the moment and could give Treville something to work with until the detailed report was finished in a few days.</p><p>They were all but finished when a phone rang and it must be an unknown number, because Athos answered with “de la Fere” after he got a better grip with his weaker left hand and slid his thumb above the screen to unlock the answering call.<br/>His face had been pale since they had first seen him after the explosion, a day without proper sleep and food will do that to you, add a hugh national weapons deal, the responsibility for thirty Musketeers, a bomb, injuries and a friend fighting for his life to that list and it was more than expected that even Athos reached his limits at some time. But after a few seconds of listening to whatever person was on the other hand of the line it seemed he had lost every color left in his face, wide eyes unblinking and unseeing.<br/>Porthos and Aramis starred openly at him, getting more agitated with every passing second. Something must have happened.<br/>“I understand. Thank you, Madame.” He ended the call without another word and looked slightly green, so that Aramis worried about him being sick.<br/>“ Ath, what is it?” he asked after a few seconds of silence when it was clear the other man would neither say something nor be sick, even if he was still only sure of the first.<br/>But Athos didn’t react and they thought he won’t answer the question but eventually he blinked and his shocked gaze stopped at Aramis face.<br/>“It was the hospital.”<br/>“Is Michel?”<br/>“No. Yes. He is out of surgery and alive.”<br/>Aramis furrowed his brow in confusion. Why would they call Athos when the last person of contact had been Treville? Oh. Oh.<br/>“You’re ‘is emergency contact?” Porthos asked at the time, Aramis had figured it out for himself, too. Athos nodded, absolutely shaken.<br/>And while Porthos stood to comfort their friend in the only possible way he knew how to do, by speaking soft nonsense, trying to hold a mental line of connection to a man who could retreat perfectly into his own mind without hearing anything, expect you can prevent him of it by providing his ears with a steady stream of words and noises; Aramis got furious.<br/>Yes, he thought, let’s put another heavy weight on him, he carries his past life so well, let’s see what those shoulders could bear else than that, they look sturdy. And when this additional weight isn’t killing him, maybe we try to put the weight of the whole world on them. Dear God, isn’t it funny.<br/>Aramis fumed and took two steady breaths to calm himself. He can’t blame Michel, Athos was his and Porthos emergency contact, too. Because he would make the right decision, whatever decision there was to be made; he would carry the burden. He would drown in it, but he would be able to be a saint before, no matter if to friends or family and he will never let them down. And to safe them would take time, probably enough time to rescue him and show him the many things it was worth living for. Probably Athos was the emergency contact from half of the Garrison for those oblivious reasons and everyone without family nearby had chosen him. </p><p>When Aramis had collected himself he stood and walked over to his friends, Athos seemed to be a little bit more himself, too.<br/>“Home?” he asked his two friends and added, before Athos could be all reasonable again “The report is wrapped up enough for Treville to work with and I think we could all use some sleep.”<br/>After a short eye contact with Porthos they didn’t wait for a response from their third, but helped him to his feet and began their slow way back to the carpark. <br/>Aramis had a hand at the small of Athos back and guided him gently over. “You take the passenger’s seat, Porthos will drive.”<br/>On the way around the car he tried to call Treville, but went straight to voicemail and left a short message about their doings, while Porthos helped Athos to buckle the seatbelt. Aramis sat behind Porthos to have a better look at Athos, even if he hadn’t that much space because of Porthos long legs.<br/>“Where are we goin’? Ours or Athos’?”<br/>Aramis thought shortly about both options but decided quickly. <br/>“Ours, we have definitely more food than wine in our cupboards.”<br/>Porthos grinned and stopped at the next red light. When it got green again he turned left and began to say something but wasn’t able to finish his sentence, because something heavy crashed in their side, glass splintered, the car turned on its side or was it the roof? Porthos couldn’t tell, everything spun around him in a flurry of light and shadow and noises, until they collided again with something and everything went black instantly. </p><p> </p><p>Treville sighted and scrubbed a hand over his gritty eyes, he had been able to get a few hours of sleep last night, while Athos team had been laying in waiting for the deal to happen, but it hadn’t been much. A look on his watch told him, that it was close before midday and he hoped his team was already home and got some well-deserved sleep. He would do the same now, the reports be damned. He checked his phone, a few missed calls and voicemails, he listened to them and was satisfied. Nothing serious, most of his people telling him, that everything was done and they were going home. Aramis had told him about Athos condition and in a second call only 30 minutes ago, that they were heading home, too. Good.</p><p>As he put his phone back in his pocket it rang again, it was the number of the local police station and he sighted in frustration, thinking about ignoring the call but acting otherwise. He was the Captain after all and only because he was tired and Duchon safely locked away with no way out for the moment, didn’t mean the other criminals were on vacation. <br/>“Captain Treville.” He greeted shortly and the only things his brain remembered on the way to his car were the words ‘car accident, two injured Musketeers and the man who did this fled the scene’.<br/> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I took some liberties with the importance and the duties of an emergency contact, it is a little bit more than in real life were they are only the first person to be called. I interpreted it in a way, that it is also the person making important decisions about a yes or no for medical treatment etc when there isn't any other person around to do so, like a wife/husband, parents etc.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is a shorter one, the next ones  will be a little bit longer again, but it was the best point for a break until tomorrow so here we are!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Aramis groaned and tried to remember what they had done last night to justify a headache like this. Some hair tickled his face and he moved his hand in its direction, when he recognized something was wrong. He laid on his side, but in an unnatural and most uncomfortable way and little stones were piercing the side of his face. He blinked his eyes open and saw splintered glass and the backrest of the driver’s seat in front of him and then the memory started to come back. They had been on their way home when another car had hit them while turning left, crashing into the right side of the car. His eyes widened, Athos and Porthos. He shifted frantically to move or release his seatbelt holding him in place but to no avail. He craned his neck to get a better look, when he heard a voice from above.<br/>“Hey, can you hear me? Hello, someone awake in there?”<br/>“’ere.” Aramis croaked, coughing afterwards.<br/>“Okay, don’t move, I will try to come to you. The car is a mess, hold on.”<br/>Aramis only nodded, even if the other one wouldn’t be able to see it. He heard the scrunching of boots stepping on glass and sirens in the distance. Than another sound he couldn’t quite assign to something and in the next moment he felt some glass falling down on him.<br/>“Shit. Can you cover your face and hands? I am able to open the door, but I would like not to hurt you any further.”<br/>Of course he hadn’t, it wasn’t like they had planned this. He tried his best to cover his eyes with his arms, even if the left one hurt like hell and the other must be satisfied, because there was a loud shriek as metal scratched against metal and a soft breeze entered the wrack. Then some rustling and moving until he felt someone planting his boots in the small places next to his cramped body. There was some more rustling and movement, more voices and more shattering glass. What had happened? He blinked confused and put his arms down only to look into a handsome face with brilliant blue eyes, framed by a mess of blond hair.<br/>“Ah, there you are, thought you’d fallen unconscious again. I am Ben, a paramedic, that’s in the front is Elani, she will take care of your friend and the firefighters are working on a way to get the two of you out of here. <br/>Aramis nodded and got a short glimpse of Elani, who seemed to have crawled through the broken windshield and let Bens soothing hands and voice wash over him. He felt exhausted, utterly exhausted and wished nothing more than to sink back into the painless oblivion he had come from. But someone was tapping at his cheek lightly and wouldn’t leave him be. <br/>“Sorry, but you have to stay awake a little while longer, need you consciousness until you are out of here. Can you tell me, where you’re hurt?”<br/>It took Aramis more effort than he was comfortable with to let his eyes open and made a short check of his body. Most of it felt quite numb and the pain he felt was bearable. <br/>“Only head and left arm so far, rest seems to be fine.”<br/>Speaking hurt, too but he decided against mentioning it and the pain helped to clear his head a little bit. He tried to move, but was stopped by two hands holding him gentle but firmly in place. <br/>“Do not move. Don’t know if you are more hurt than we can see at the moment and I will not risk that. Relax and let us do all the work.”<br/>And so Aramis did even if the time passed only slowly and his mind drifted off more often than not. He was vaguely aware of some more tapping and a voice calling his name. He must had given a response, because the tapping stopped.<br/>More time passed and someone covered him with a blanket, his breath hitched, why had they put it above his head? He tried to struggle and the blanket was removed immediately and replaced by light and Bens calm voice near his ear, explaining that the firefighters will cut him out now and they needed to protect his body from glass and metal splinters. This blanket would protect him in the progress and Ben wouldn’t leave his side until he was at the hospital, nothing would happen to him. He relaxed again and the next time he got aware  of his surroundings he found himself flat on his back on a stretcher inside an ambulance, Ben smiling down at him and another face swam into view a few seconds later.<br/>“Capt’n” he rasped and Treville smiled down at him, too.<br/>“Thought you had enough action for a day; rest now, I will see you later at the hospital.”<br/>“P’thos? Ath’?”<br/>Treville’s face darkened, but he gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. “On the way to the hospital; rest Aramis.”<br/>And so Aramis closed his eyes and listened to Bens voice until the pain medication led him into a most welcome nothing.</p><p> </p><p>Treville looked at the ambulance until the sirens got on and it started its way to the hospital, before his gaze returned to the black mess that had once been one of the Garrisons SUVs. It lay on its left side in the middle of the crossing, surrounded by broken glass and damaged cars. If he could trust the reports of the witnesses, his men were rammed by another black SUV at high speed while turning left. It crashed into the middle of the passenger side and flipped the car around. It had spun around once and crashed into a bus afterwards, falling on its side again. But it hadn’t ended there; another car had come to a skidding halt next to the wrack and masked men had rounded the car, broken away parts of the windshield and got Athos out and into their own car before they fled the scene.<br/>The driver of the first car had vanished and nobody had seen him disappear, but Treville thought he had gone with the others. How could this have happened and who was behind it? He didn’t believe that this was a random accident because they had kidnapped a well-known member of the Musketeers. Athos had led operations against a lot of high ranking criminals and one of them was taken only 12 hours ago. No, this wasn’t a coincident, this was planned. <br/>He needed the video footage and had to call his team back to work, after that he would talk to Aramis and Porthos about what had happened.<br/>He took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a second and squared his shoulders. He had a job to do and his Lieutenant to find. Or better, a friend to find, probably someone as dear as his own son, so there wasn’t a second to waste with standing around and worrying. </p><p> </p><p>“I will not stay here and lay around all day in a bed when Athos is missing!” Aramis declared and looked challenging from Dr. Lemay to Treville. The latter felt like dealing with a child, which didn’t got the cookies it wanted. Porthos on the other hand looked like he hadn’t gotten any cookies at all and Treville felt the urge to comfort the younger man.<br/>While Aramis’ temperament exploded at bad news, Porthos draw back into himself for a while, trying to sort things out first before he acted. Which didn’t mean that he too couldn’t be impulsive or rash afterwards. <br/>“Me neither.” There he was, same stubborn set of his jaw as Aramis, hadn’t it been for their different skin color, they could have been twins. And now he felt the urge to slap them both, if his hair hadn’t been grey already it would turn so now. But before he could say something the Doctor did.<br/>“Gentlemen, I will make you an offer. It is already late and as I was told you are on your feet since yesterday morning, you are exhausted and injured. The two of you will stay the night, so we will be able to monitor your condition and if I am satisfied with the results tomorrow morning you may leave. You won’t be of any help if you collapse in a few hours and end up here again. And we all know this is more likely to happen than not, because we have been through this before. I know you for a few years by now and it wouldn’t be the first time, so please let the others do the work tonight, gain some strength and the rest you need.”<br/>Treville could see, that they knew Dr. Lemay was right and that they trusted him, but Athos was missing and nobody knew if he was still alive; and it got against everything the three of them stood for to lay here and do nothing. <br/>“Can we speak about the things you are doing tonight?” Aramis asked after a few seconds of silence and Treville nodded.<br/>“When you promise to me to rest afterwards and don’t scare the nurses.”<br/>The ghost of a smile crossed Aramis face and so Treville got himself a chair and sat between his two men to explain what they were doing until they could come and help themselves.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>And there it had been, this thing called real life... Sorry for being late, but what is a day compared to some of you waiting for a new chapter from Lost and Found for about 2,5 years^^</p><p>Thank you all so much for your comments and Kudos, I can't say how much I appreciate them and hope that I will bring this story to an satisfying end for everyone, especially Hsg because it is yours!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Can’t you make it work any faster?”<br/>D’Artagnan glared at them over his cup of coffee before he looked back at one of his various computer screens again.<br/>“No, and you pestering me for hours didn’t help either. But you could get me another cup of coffee in the meantime, so you are of some kind of use.”</p><p>Aramis scoffed but did, as he was asked, he knew that everyone was doing his best to find Athos but it was a slow going process. The video footage from the crossing had confirmed the statements of the multiple witnesses, but that was everything they had. The SUV had been stolen; the van had a faked license plate and thus wasn’t registered. <br/>D’Artagnan tried to follow the van through every camera he could get a hold on, even if Aramis wasn’t sure that it was absolutely legal, but he didn’t care. They had to find Athos, their friend was missing for almost 24 hours by now and nobody had contacted them so far. He could have punched something or someone, he was frustrated and knew that Porthos felt the same. They were both relatively unharmed, a mild concussion, a few stitches (or a few more in case of Aramis left upper arm), some bad bruising and a lot of scratches and hurting muscles, but nothing to dire. Porthos had gotten himself a cracked bone in his forearm as counterpart for Aramis flesh wound and was wearing a splint to prevent further damage. He wasn’t too happy about it, but since it wasn’t his right hand he wasn’t complaining too much and it wouldn’t hinder him to wield his gun and help to free Athos. Even if they were only declared fit for light duty, he had to talk with Treville about that.<br/>But Aramis was worrying about their missing friend, his condition hadn’t been too serious before the accident but he was still injured and he had seen the video of the crash and the photos of the crime scene. Athos side of the car had been hit by the other car with brutal force somewhere between the front and the backdoor, luckily a little bit more to the back. But there had been blood in the car, which indicated he had hit his head. He seemed to be unconscious at the time the two men had pulled him out of the car and Aramis hoped, that none of those already cracked ribs had gotten worse and punctured his lung. But it was unlikely that he hadn’t taken further injuries, when Porthos and he himself had gotten some, he too wouldn’t come out of this unscathed. <br/>D’Artagnans coffee forgotten he leaned his head against the cool wall and prayed that everything would be alright, that they would find him soon and get him home. He felt lost without him at the moment, Athos would know how to handle a situation like this. Had done so often enough, a steady presence who gave their feet solid ground beneath to walk on and a direction they could take. They needed him.<br/>He balled his hands into fists when Porthos frantic voice cut him out of his thoughts.  <br/>“Aramis!” he bellowed over the floor, clearly thinking the other man had gone to the kitchen and wasn’t standing two steps away from the door, overwhelmed by his emotions. When Porthos poked his head out of the office to call something else, Aramis raised his head and their eyes met.<br/>“We’ve got something.”<br/>Aramis heart stuttered in his chest at the emotions in Porthos eyes and the light quiver in his voice; no good news then.</p><p>A few minutes later they stood, accompanied by Treville, behind D’Artagnans desk, watching in silence at a blurred picture of a figure huddled in the corner of a sparely lit room, handcuffed to a pipe. You actually can’t tell who it was, but the message which came with the image made it quite clear.<br/>‘We have someone you want, you have someone we want. We will contact you again to clarify the exchange. He will die if you don’t accept.’<br/>Treville sighted. “I will talk with Richelieu and Louis. They won’t accept an exchange, but maybe there are different scenarios that we can work out to make them believe that we would. Try to find out, where the message came from, where they held Athos and tell me everything valuable you find immediately.”</p><p>And with that he was gone and D’Artagnans head hit the table in front of him in despair. Aramis tried hard to hold his own emotions in check and wasn’t able to comfort the young technician.  But Porthos could, thanks for his stoically and pragmatic mind. Aramis could hear him breathe deeply once, twice and he spoke after the third exhalation with such confidence as if there wasn’t Athos live at risk, but only a minor issue to be solved without any problems. <br/>“D’Artagnan call Constance, she can help you with the video footage and find that damn car, while you try to get a grip on the location of the messenger. Aramis you will get a list with all the properties owned by Duchon, his men are the main suspects and so they had brought Athos to one of their own places. I will grab some food and contact someone who could probably give us some inside information. Tell Brujon and Clermont to help us, they are like blood hounds if fed with the right information’s and they are rested as well. After we ate something, the three of us will sleep for a few hours, the other three should be able to go on by their own by then. See you later.”<br/>And with a reassuring squeeze to their necks he was gone, leaving Aramis and D’Artagnan alone. <br/>“How does he do that? He made it sound quite easy.”<br/>Aramis shrugged and let his hurting head drop down in his hands, the image of rest and sleep Porthos had put in his mind was quite overwhelming, but there were more important things to do right now. He met D’Artagnans worried gaze with an easy smile and grabbed his phone. <br/>“I will call Brujon and Clermont, have I to knock at the door when I come back and you are alone in here with lovely Constance or will you two behave?”<br/>He ducked behind the doorframe as D’Artagnan only threw a pencil at him in response. <br/>They would find Athos and get him back home soon. </p><p> </p><p>It was dark around him, dark and cold. He felt numb and didn’t know where he was; he tried to recall what had happened but couldn’t remember even if it felt like he should do so. Panic spread though him, this wasn’t right, he should move and search for some light, be he couldn’t move, his limbs won’t cooperate. <br/>Suddenly a door, he didn’t know existed flew open and crashed against the wall with the force of it. He hadn’t had any time to react when someone grabbed his hair and pulled his head up forcefully and he looked into a much too bright light. It set his body on fire, he felt pure agony rushing through his veins and he didn’t know if he screamed or not, he couldn’t gather a single thought and then something heavy collided with his jaw and the world went dark again. </p><p> </p><p>Aramis mood had changed since his short breakdown in the hallway and the following adrenalin burst. He was calmer and more focused, the panic and unnecessary emotions weren’t overwhelming him anymore. His head was clear and he could think like the highly ranked special agent he was once more. <br/>They had taken some rest and ate while D’Artagnan had successfully ended his task and found the place where the message had come from. It was send from a small internet café near the city border and Duchon owned six buildings in a 30 minutes radius in- and outside of the city. It was a first step, even if it was a small one and they hadn’t any proof that Athos actually was in one of those buildings.<br/>Treville had spoken to Louis and Richelieu, which hadn’t agreed to the kidnappers terms but had readily give permission to act as was necessary in order to get Athos back. And they knew how to work with this, on top of giving them a free ticket Richelieu would make sure, that Duchon won’t be able to contact one single person, including his lawyer, for the next 24 hours. That wasn’t a legal move, but kidnapping a Musketeer wasn’t either. <br/>They would never been best friends with Richelieu, but he was as loyal to Louis as a human being could be and he would do a lot of things to protect him. He also respected Treville, Athos and their work, even if he would never admit that. Moments like this were proof enough.</p><p>They were searching for video footage of the getaway vehicle near one of Duchons buildings when the second message arrived. It showed two men with black clothes and wearing a mask in a sparely lit corridor leading to a door. One of them pushed it open and they could see Athos after a few seconds, who sat huddled in the corner they had already seen at the photo. One of the men pulled his head up roughly and showed his face to the camera, while announcing that this video was proof for their friend still being alive and that they would leave Athos at a hidden place and told them where to find him as soon as Duchon was with them again. They set them a limit until midnight the next day.  <br/>Then the video ended abruptly and Porthos lips escaped a small low growl. Aramis understood his friend, Athos had been only barely conscious, his face bloody and the right eye swollen shut completely; the left one had showed sheer panic as if he hadn’t been able to comprehend what was happening, probably he had gained conscious only a few moments before. But he hadn’t made a sound and Aramis was thankful for that, Athos screaming or pleading for help would have made it so much worse, because he never did something like that. Not for his own sake. <br/>He closed his eyes for a moment and began to go through the breathing routine he did before every job as a sniper to focus, relax and clam down. He needed this and when he opened his eyes again he met Trevilles gaze and the older man nodded approvingly. <br/>“Gentlemen, I know this video wasn’t what we hoped for, but now we know that he is still alive. Their conditions are expected, even if they aren’t in our favor. They won’t get Duchon back, but we have another 28 hours to locate them and bring Athos home. There is the possibility that they will get nervous because Duchon won’t be able to contact them anymore so we need to be prepared for acting immediately. Find the source of the second video and try to see if you can get a picture of the persons sending them or of the car. Which direction did the messenger take afterwards? Send civil cars to Duchons buildings where it is possible to observe if there are suspects to be seen. Tell me, where the other buildings are, maybe there ways to observe them, too. We need every information we can get!”</p><p>And so they got into action again. Porthos vanished after a few moments, leaving his weapon, phone and wallet behind, because he won’t need them in the underground talking to people, Aramis wouldn’t even wave at from the other side of the street with a loaded gun at hand; but Porthos knew these people and how to talk to them. And he was definitely able to defend himself, so Aramis had not to worry about him. </p><p>Because his eyesight was one of the best at the Garrison he got himself a seat in one of the civil cars observing the buildings even if it wasn’t a good time for that. It was already dark and Aramis wasn’t sure they would be able to see anything at all, but he was proven wrong. <br/>They parked a short distance away at an official parking lot, which gave a nice view at the great industrial building, it was windowless, but there was a lamp above one of the doors a little bit further down the road. They talked a little bit while waiting and Aramis never looked away from the dark areal. After his eyes had adjusted to the dim light of a city going to sleep it was easy to see more and so he was able to see other doors and maybe even a window, but he couldn’t be sure, even if it was one the room behind it wasn’t occupied. There were a few cars parked at the front and it would make sense, because the information they had told that the people were working in a three shift system; which was proven right around 9.45pm when new workers entered the building and others came out. They decided to visit another location inside the city borders and hoped to find a more abandoned place.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“We have to hurry up!” </p><p>Aramis looked up from the layouts he had in front of him and nearly spilled his coffee at Porthos’ abrupt entrance. He hadn’t seen the other man for the last 13 hours and he looked rough and exhausted but he was clearly in a hurry and worried about something. <br/>“They’re getting nervous, because Duchon hadn’t had any contact with them and rumors are going round that we brought him out of the land. One of my informants said that they aren’t sure anymore that they should keep Athos any longer, but they haven’t done anything yet. Duchon’s emergency commander isn’t dumb and for now he is able to hold the pack together, but he won’t be able to do so any longer. As far as he could tell me they are keeping a prisoner at one of the abandoned buildings out of the city, but he couldn’t tell me which one it is; must be about a 20 minutes’ drive from here. Do you have something else?”</p><p>“We can agree with your informant about the location, we observed the other buildings in town, they are well used and it wouldn’t be that easy to get an injured person inside there without being seen. But we weren’t able to see something useful at the other locations. They are too far outside to observe them without being suspicious and even if we know from where the two videos were send, it isn’t really helpful. Two different internet cafes, both videos send from different men wearing base caps and they couldn’t be identified by the cameras because they knew what they were doing and hid their faces well. It looks like the car was the same, but with a different license plate, both with fake numbers and they got lost in areas without much cameras. So we weren’t able to find them on that way.” Aramis told him.</p><p>“But out of the three buildings Duchon owns outside the city there are only two in a 20 minutes radius. The other one is much more separated, about more or less 40 minutes to get there.” D’Artagnan chimed in and showed them all three locations on his screen. </p><p> </p><p>Treville looked at his watch; they had around 14 hours till the exchange, when Duchon’s men would hold their promise, which was unlikely after everything Porthos had told them. They needed a plan and they needed it fast. <br/>“I am quite sure, that they will contact us again within the next two hours; twelve hours before the exchange because they would like to prove their point of superiority. And I believe that they will shorten the time they have given us yesterday. When Porthos’ informant is right and the man in command is losing his grip on the rest of the men, he will do everything to shorten the progress and risk further damage and safe his life. Duchon won’t show any mercy when he let them run wild and jeopardize his whole year long work because of one prisoner and on top of his imprisonment. <br/>We will all stay here and plan our strike against both buildings in question. If we run short on Musketeers I will get other forces moving. Porthos, take a shower and a nap, I need you alert and fit in a few hours. I will join you in 30 minutes, but I have to make a few phone calls first.”</p><p> </p><p>They were well trained, they were especially schooled for situations like this and they were the best qualified and the most successful team you could find in whole Europe to deal with things such as these; and so nobody of the concentrated men and women in the room flinched at the sound of an incoming message three hours after they had begun to work out a rescue plan. It was another video in bad quality and it showed a familiar corridor until the door opened and they got another look at Athos, who looked much worse than before. They had beaten him, there was fresh blood on his face and he wasn’t conscious or in a too bad shape to move for himself. They all but let him fall to the ground at the end of the video and that was, when Constance’s cry broke the silence. <br/>“Stop, stop the video! Stop it shortly after he let go of Athos’ collar; I know that sign on the wall!” She began to type on her own keyboard wildly while D’Artagnan stopped the video, showing them a part of what looked like an entrance sign of a zoo or a circus, but wasn’t to identify any further.”</p><p>“Here it is.” She proclaimed and showed them a picture from three years ago, when the timestamp was correct. The merry sign showed two elephants flanking the word “Circus Encalli” and beneath it laid a dead body.<br/>“This is the reason the building is abandoned since 2017, two of the latest owners men found a heavily damaged body in there, rumors say that Duchon was interested in this building for years but the other man didn’t want to sell and that this had been the last warning. The man sold afterwards, the body could never be identified and the police hadn’t been able to find the perpetrator; the man was killed by dogs, so no much luck to find a murder weapon or any other proofs on the corpse. So, in case Duchon hasn’t such signs in every single one of his buildings, it has to be this one.”<br/>She showed them one of the two buildings they were focusing on for hours and Aramis breathed out in relief. They would get him, they know where he was and Duchon’s men didn’t know this, they thought they would kill or leave Athos to die on his own in four hours. But they wouldn’t be able to do that, because they were discovered.</p><p> </p><p>Even if they took Duchons men by surprise, they weren’t easily overwhelmed; something that was to be expected with international weapons dealers. Aimed to the teeth, even alert when they slept and there were a lot of them and the building wasn’t a small one. But they were outnumbered and the Musketeers well organized, so they got most of the men under control rather quick; which didn’t mean that there were still more men in the whole building, well-hidden and ready to strike every second. <br/>They knew that Athos had to be downstairs, because Constance had showed them the layout of the building and the room where their friend should be and so Porthos and Aramis moved in that direction, they were accompanied by Brujon and Clermont, because it wasn’t safe to be down here alone. They heard some yelling and shots a short while ago, but it came from another section of the building, transmitted above the huge pipes on the ceiling it wasn’t easy to locate the direction they had come from, but it wasn’t on their corridor and so they moved on. It was dark down here and they couldn’t find something to light the few bulbs above their heads, so there must be a central place for this and they didn’t have the time to search for it. They had a more important task at hand and it took already to long for Porthos liking when he saw a small corridor to their left Aramis had passed only seconds ago. He whistled low and his friend turned around to look at him. <br/>“How could I have not seen it?” he asked confused and starred at the corridor as if it had betrayed him personally and on intention.<br/>“That’s because you have sharpshooter eyes, if it had been away a mile or two and been hidden by a bush you would have detected it before anyone else would.” Porthos smirked at a still pouting Aramis. “Should I help you with finding the door or will you be alright with that? It has four corners and a handle on it.”<br/>“Very funny, really. Very funny, I would laugh out loud if we weren’t in immediate danger to be shot at or attacked and yes, I think I can handle it to find and identify a door.”<br/>Porthos saluted playfully and they entered the short corridor until it ended at a door they had already seen thrice. <br/>They got in position as good as the small place allowed and waited for Aramis sign. They didn’t know if Athos was alone in there or if some of the men were with him. Even if it was unlikely because they hadn’t had any idea about the raid, but it was better to be safe than sorry. </p><p>So Brujon opened the door at Aramis sign and entered first with a flashlight bright enough to illuminate the room far enough to see most of it. The door crashed on the wall behind him, showing that no one was behind him and the other three entered the second after him. The room wasn’t big and one look around told them, that it was empty; none of Duchon’s men and no Athos. Aramis starred in disbelief at the sign they had seen in the video, this was the right room, it had to be, they couldn’t already be too late and Athos has to be here somewhere, but he wasn’t. The only thing left of him where some fresh sprinkles of blood on the floor, beneath it a much bigger shape of darker color than the rest of the ground, probably the remains of the last occupant of the room. But before his thoughts could wander any further in the direction of dogs in combination with Athos, Brujons thin voice brought him back.<br/>“Guys?” <br/>He didn’t say anything else, but all three of them knew that it wasn’t good. His voice was too small in the empty space and even if he was young and not as long as themselves with the Musketeers, he shouldn’t and mustn’t sound so frightened. <br/>Aramis turned around and hold his breath, if in relief or horror he couldn’t tell. Brujon was half a head taller than Athos and so all they could see of their Lieutenant was a mass of black hair, crusted with blood and a glistening green eye next to Brujons ear, he held something small and obliviously sharp to the other man’s throat with a hand shaking so badly that he had already drawn some blood. They stood in shocked silence for a few heartbeats before Aramis found his voice again, low and calm, for the benefit of both men in front of him, Athos who hadn’t recognized them yet and Brujon who still didn’t know what was happening.</p><p>“Brujon do not move, it is Athos behind you and he hasn’t realized who we are. Clermont please move the light, so that he can see Porthos and me clearly, but do it slowly.”<br/>‘I don’t want him to think, that we are trying to attack him, he will kill Brujon faster than one of us could react to safe him’ he thought for himself; Athos wasn’t their Lieutenant for his good look and dry humor, he was a deadly force if let loose and if the situation called for it, his tactical mind made him even more dangerous. This whole situation showed it all too clearly; he must have hidden at the point exactly were the door wouldn’t hit him while being opened so he wouldn’t give himself away because he prevented it from touching the wall and near enough so he wouldn’t be seen from a person focusing at another point in the room. In getting himself a weapon Aramis could see once again the worth of the man threatening one of his own at the moment, even bloodied and beaten he was still able to focus and find a solution.<br/>He waited until Clermont had done as he was told and began to speak again.<br/>“Athos it is us, we came to rescue you. Duchons men are no more, you are safe, we will bring you home. It is Brujon in front of you, don’t do something rush, please take a look at us. You are safe, we will bring you home, please trust me.”<br/>He knew what he was asking, trusting someone was Athos’ biggest weaknesses, the one thing he did only with a handful of people, but Porthos and he were two of them, Athos had only to realize who they were.<br/>His friend blinked once, twice and Aramis could see the effort it took him to even try to comprehend what he had heard and then to focus on them, but after a few but agonizing long seconds he seemed to recognize them and Aramis saw Brujons hair moving when Athos breathed out, before his one visible eye roll back and he went limp.</p><p>“Brujon catch him!” he yelled and to his credit Brujon did shortly before their friends head hit the cold stone floor. <br/>Aramis didn’t thought twice and rushed to their side, hitting his knee hard on the ground. He put a hand on Athos to cold skin and turned his head slightly to get a better look; the right eye was swollen shut badly and that part of his face was a mess of cuts and bruises, the left eye was unharmed, but the pupil far too small for the meager light when he lifted the lid. The hand which still had a handcuff on it was swollen and rubbed raw, the left was tainted in fresh blood and sharp piece of broken glass laid in his lax fingers. Aramis didn’t dare to move him until the paramedics arrive, but he took the long splinter away carefully and tossed it to the side, it had drawn blood from two of his friends and that was enough. He had no way to say what laid underneath the ragged remains of his shirt, but he could see blood and more cuts, when he slipped it up a bit and a lot more bruising. He could hear Porthos ending the call for the medical team and decided to wait and calm down with Athos not to strong but steady heartbeat under his fingertips.<br/> </p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you all so much for reading,writing comments and leaving Kudos!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was already beyond late when Treville opened the door to Athos hospital room and the sight that greeted him was like balm to his soul. Even if it hurt him to see him injured like this, he was more like a son to him than an employee when he told the truth, it was good to see him safe and surrounded by friends; he would be able to breath properly again now. <br/>Porthos sat in one of chairs, feet propped up on another, his head tipped back against the wall and snoring softly.<br/>Aramis sat beside Athos bed, his head pillowed on one arm lying above Athos’ thick blanket, the other one holding the fingers of Athos’ left and mostly unhurt hand lightly as if he needed the reassurance that his friend was still there.<br/>Athos himself laid on his back, the dark bruises and cuts a high contrast to his pale and sunken face, they hadn’t feed him but gave him water a few times, but he was nonetheless highly dehydrated. The right eye was still swollen shut, even if it was not as bad as shortly after his rescue and Dr. Lemay said it would recover with time given. He was put on some oxygen to help with his breathing, four broken ribs on the right side, deep bruising and a few more cracked ones on both sides; Treville couldn’t remember how many, but it wasn’t important, they would heal and none had punctured his lung. The broken collarbone had to be set in surgery because the bones had shifted, probably due to the car crash, maybe later in a beating; same for his right arm, broken and stabilized through a metal plate which would come out again when the bones had mended enough in about a year. And for the rest, a lot more cuts and bruises; his body temperature was far too low, he had a severe concussion and nobody could tell what physical trauma may be turn up when he wakes. Which could be a while, his injuries were severe and the narcotics wouldn’t help with the progress either and so they had to wait. <br/>Treville helped himself to a chair at the end of Athos bed and began the silent watch above his three best men.</p><p> </p><p>The hospital stuff wasn’t too happy about Aramis’ and Porthos’ decision to stay as long as Athos needed them and so the two of them consulted Dr. Lemay, but he only asked why they hadn’t helped themselves to another bed so they could rest properly while the other sat with Athos and so they did. No need to tell them, that Treville and he had decided this, so the two of them would get the rest they needed and let them believe they could stay for Athos’ sake. <br/>But it was good to have them at hand when Athos woke out of a dream slightly panicked and could be comforted by them. He only woke for short periods of time at the beginning and wasn’t lucid enough to talk with them, but his condition improved over the next few days and Dr. Lemay wasn’t overly concerned anymore. </p><p> </p><p>Treville had lit the small bedside table lamp and sorted through some new cases but there wasn’t something major, otherwise he wouldn’t have done it next to a hospital bed. He glanced over the file he was reading at his Lieutenant, who still slept a lot but seemed to be in the process of waking up. His eyes were moving rapidly under closed lids and he began to toss his head lightly from side to side. He put the folder away and placed a hand on his good shoulder and began to speak in a low voice, hoping that the familiarity let the other man go back to sleep without waking up, but he wasn’t successful. Athos needed a few moments to adjust to the real world and getting out of the grip of his latest nightmare; when his good eye focused totally on Treville he calmed and gave him a half smile before turning his head to look for his friends, but they weren’t there.<br/>And before Athos mind was able to come up with minimum four worst case scenarios what could have happened to them, Treville interrupted his thoughts. <br/>“I send them away for a snack two hours ago because they were grinding on my nerves and when I checked some time ago  they were pestering the nurses of the nightshift, who didn’t seemed to be as annoyed as I have been at all.”<br/>Athos smile widened for a moment before a thought seemed to strike his mind and he tried to sit up, which worked out well until he put too much pressure on his stitched up left hand and sank back with a gasp. Treville hold him back when it became clear that he would try to do so again. <br/>“Have to go” he declared through gritted teeth and Treville raised a questioning eyebrow at him, clearly not impressed by his behavior.<br/>“Michel, I forgot Michel, I have to ask them after his condition” he said and tried to get up for the third time, but was stopped resolutely but carefully by his Captain.<br/>Treville looked at him with sympathy in his eyes, commanding men in the field was a burden, because you have to make decisions that could mean serious injuries or death for your men. But it was a totally different feeling when they not only follow your orders without question but trust you as far as Michel had. That burden was heavier than any other and none that Athos should feel at first when he woke lucid for more than two minutes for one of the first times. <br/>“He is as alright as he can be at the moment and will make a full recovery, even if it will take some time.”<br/>Athos nodded but there was still something on his mind, Treville could tell it and sighted.<br/>“You should go back to sleep but I can see that there is more you needed to ask before you rest.”<br/>Athos averted his gaze, but the Captain knew his men and he knew that Athos needed time more than anything else before he found his voice, he could wait for it.<br/>“I should have asked after him sooner.”<br/>Dear God, this man had been injured in a bomb explosion, been involved in a car crash and been kidnapped and beaten afterwards and the only thing that concerned him was, that his first thought after waking hadn’t been to ask for an injured team member. He would have liked to knock some sense into him, but he had been hit enough in the last days and Treville didn’t thought it to be beneficial in this case.<br/>“No, you shouldn’t have, you did everything you could a few days ago to save his life, without you he wouldn’t be with us anymore and that is all that counts at the moment. You couldn’t have done more than that and it is this you are a member of a team for. You don’t have to carry burdens and tasks alone, when you are not able to do so. And now rest, you need it as much as Michel at the moment. You will both be alright. Sleep now and I will make sure that the other two will be back again when you wake the next time, rest Athos.”</p><p> </p><p>Porthos looked out of the window and starred at the moon, which wasn’t full yet but would be in a night or two. The temperature had dropped in the past few days and he shuddered at the thought. There had been a time in his life when he had tried to survive this time of the year, cold, hungry and alone. He wasn't proud of his past and living on the streets, but it was a part of him and he had survived.<br/>“You are with us now and will ever be” a sleepy voice said and he looked at Athos who blinked owlishly at him, fighting his way out of drug induced sleep.<br/>“How do you want to know what I was thinkin’?” he grumbled but felt warmth spread through him at the idea that his friends knew him so well and cared for him. <br/>“You’ve got that look in your eyes when you think about your past. You have gone back to find me, haven’t you?”<br/>Porthos looked away and nodded, he knew Athos opinion of him going back there. They had so many cases he could be of use trying to get information there, but Athos would deny it whenever he could find another solution, even if it meant more work for him. It wasn’t that Porthos wasn’t good at gaining information on the streets of his past life, but it often brought back bad memories he better left untouched and he always needed some time to readjust and find his peace with his past again afterwards. <br/>There were so many people there that could have been him if he hadn’t had the help he had at the right time from the right people. If they hadn’t been there…<br/>A cold and bandaged hand grabbed his fingers and he turned back to Athos who fought the intense call of sleep long enough to whisper a soft “thank you”.<br/>The dull green eyes closed and Porthos felt the warmth spread through him again, even if it hadn’t been easy he would do so again without thinking twice, because the life of his friends was worth more than anything else.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re right eye is nearly open, isn’t it great? You are doing better my friend” Aramis chirped and smiled at him with this big toothy smile he only used for situations like this. <br/>The sun was shining and little grains of dust could be seen in its rays. Athos thought that Aramis must be right, because his friend was annoying him with the irrelevant chatter and that hadn’t had happened in the days before. It felt like Aramis’ voice was in his ears for hours but that couldn’t be, he hadn’t been awake longer than half an hour before he had to take a short nap. He felt like saying something that would make his friend give him some quiet but Aramis interrupted him.<br/>“You have to tell me something.”<br/>Athos suppressed a groan at the solemn look on Aramis face and waited for the question.<br/>“Where do you had that fragment of glass from?”<br/>Athos looked at him, mind blank, what glass, what was Aramis talking about?<br/>Aramis seemed to see his confusion and furrowed his brow, it was the first thing they came upon that Athos wasn’t able to remember instantly. <br/>“You had a quite large piece of broken glass in your left hand when we found you, it is what you cut your palm with and you used it as a weapon to defend yourself.”<br/>Athos thought for a moment and tried to remember his rescue. There were the faces of Aramis and Porthos and someone in front of him.<br/>“I held it to someone’s throat.”<br/>“Yes, that was Brujon. You gave him quite the shock, all of us to be true. None of us was prepared for you finding us and not the other way round; but you fainted rather quickly after that, so it wasn’t too impressive.”<br/>The last comment fulfilled its purpose and the guilt in Athos’ eyes vanished somewhat.<br/>“When they came for the last time one of them brought a glass bottle with water or something like that with him. They probably drank from it, but I can’t remember and when they left one of them let it knock against the doorframe by accident and it broke. The other one wasn’t amused but they hastily picked up the pieces and left. I was lying on the floor, barely aware but I saw something glistening in the light before they closed the door. I had heard them talking about killing me and I needed to do something and so I did. The rest is hazy, but it must have worked out.”<br/>Aramis smiled, yes it had and it would probably even have if it hadn’t been them coming through that door, but two of Duchon’s men with a whole different intention. He had to believe that, which Athos would have saved himself if they had come too late.<br/>“You came in time ‘Mis” Athos mumbled and Aramis rolled his eyes.<br/>“Stop your mind reading, it is annoying and I know that you did it with Porthos too.”<br/>“’s nothing like that, but you two are as easy to read as an open book when you worry” Athos mumbled, eyes closing again. <br/>Aramis snorted and pulled the blanket a little but higher up his friends chest.<br/>“We would come for you again mon ami, even if it meant to travel around the world into unknown terrain and back. We would do so for you, because you would do the same again for us without thinking twice and all alone if necessary.</p><p>All for one and one for all. “</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So this is the last real chapter, the one tomorrow will be more like an epiloque.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Epiloque</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you all for coming on this journey with me and giving so much lovely feedback, I appreciate it quite a lot!</p><p>Hsg I hope you liked it and it could make a few minutes of this time a little bit brighter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Stubborn mule!” Aramis fumed and grabbed Athos shoulders slightly harder than necessary to get a good look at the other man’s eyes, who was too stunned of their snipers reaction to give a fast reply or any reply at all.<br/>“You are in active duty for what, six hours?”<br/>“Five hours” Athos still stunned brain replied, which wasn’t really in his favor against Aramis’ wrath.<br/>“Dear God, they should have never let you out of that hospital. Have you trouble breathing?”<br/>“I’ve got out there six weeks ago, what…”<br/>“Have you trouble with your breathing?” Aramis snapped and prodded Athos ribcage with none soft fingers, Athos hissed at the touch of his still sensitive ribs and tried to move away. He took a careful breath in and had to admit that everything hurt quite a bit, even if not too much. But it was already too late and Aramis had made up his mind.<br/>“You are going to the hospital for x-rays and don’t you dare to be inconsistent with me because I can see that they hurt.”<br/>“No” Athos brain, which still tried to comprehend everything that had happened in the last few minutes answered.<br/>Aramis looked at him in absolute disbelieve and that brought Athos finally back to himself.<br/>“Trouble with my breathing I mean, I haven’t any. And I would prefer not to go to the hospital, too.”<br/>“As I already told you, a ‘no’ isn’t an option. What were you thinking?” Aramis rambled on, while Porthos leaned one shoulder against a street lamp and watched them smirking openly, even if there was concern in his eyes.</p><p>But Aramis seemed to be satisfied for the moment and decided against scolding Athos any further while he steered him in the direction of their car with one hand securely at the small of his back.<br/>“Come, take the passenger seat, Porthos will drive.”<br/>Athos stopped dead in his track and Aramis could have slapped himself for his choice of words. He rounded Athos without losing physical contact and put his hand on his nape as he looked into his slightly widened green eyes. <br/>“Hey, look at me Athos, everything is alright, Duchon and his men are in custody, no one will harm us this time. It will be a simple car ride as so many others in the last weeks.”</p><p>Even if none of them had been taken place in one of the black garrison SUVs or in the aftermath of a case.<br/>They were all a little bit stunned how little Athos seemed to be affected by the latest events in the aftermath of Duchons arrest even if they knew better than to believe him limitless. Moments like this told them everything they needed to know. The still present nightmares every few nights were another giveaway sign that he wasn't as untouched as he wanted them to believe, but he was on a good way and able to process the happenings with time given. One or two evenings at Trevilles with a glass of good whiskey at hand and his friends nearby were doing more good than any psychologist could. </p><p>“And you fulfilled our limit of carcrashes for the day already” he added when he saw the tension leaving Athos shoulders and he looked at him more alert. <br/>“If you are able to remember that you crashed one of our cars into the one of our fleeing suspect out of a sidestreet not 3o minutes ago. So I think we are done for today, don’t you think?”<br/>“Hadn’t been another option without losing him” Athos said, voice raspy and Aramis suppressed the urge to slap his Lieutenant. <br/>“I could have shot his tire or something like that! You know, this is what they pay me for! When I am not there to safe your ass, but I am able to do other things than shot at living persons, tires are not hat difficult to hit.”<br/>“Wrong angle, you would never have been able to do that” Porthos announced from the other side of the car. “’t was the only thing we could do to get him, before he would have vanished in the traffic. Even if I have to admit that it wasn’t one of Athos’ wisest decisions.”</p><p>Athos chest and neck were in absolute agreement with Porthos’ statement but he wouldn’t admit that even if his friends knew it, when it took him a little bit longer to get himself into the car.<br/>He exhaled slowly with closed eyes after Aramis had shut the door and Porthos snorted. “Ya alright?”<br/>Athos thought about it for a moment and looked at Porthos with glistening eyes. “If they didn’t find any cracked or broken bones at the hospital, yes; if they find some? No, probably not because Aramis will kill me.”<br/>Porthos laughed. “That’s your own doing. You know, there was a wise Lieutenant at the Musketeers and he told me once, that it is head over heart and not the other way 'round. Something sounding familiar to you?”<br/>Athos smirked at that; sometimes your heart has to rule above your head because it is much braver and more capable of making decisions under pressure than the other way round. None of them would be here today if it wasn’t so, they all had done that to safe others lifes or get the job done. But he would never mention this and definitely not in front of these two because they would run wild, even if it was right that you couldn’t solve every problem with rational thoughts or experience, sometimes you have to hear what your heart is saying and didn’t ask if it really is sure about it. That is how they had become friends after all, he had trusted his broken heart to make a better decision than his guilt tortured mind even if he had sworn to himself, that he would never do so again. Luckily he had because it had been the best decision of his life so far, but this was another thing he would never say out loud.<br/>He smiled tiredly but thankful as Porthos looked reassuring at him again one last time before starting the engine and contemporaneous felt a hand brushing some hair out of his neck and resting there warm and heavy afterwards as if to ground him.<br/>He was safe and would be so as long as he had his friends at his side.</p>
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